Argie Pearl Cole

Argie Cole, 99 of Henderson, Iowa, passed away on November 21, 2019. Funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 25, 2019 at the Loess Hills Funeral Home in Glenwood, Iowa. Burial will be in the Farm Creek Cemetery - Henderson, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at the funeral home in Glenwood.

Memorials: Family will direct memorials

Argie Pearl (Mahan) Cole was born on June 28, 1920 in Rose, Oklahoma to Clarence and Iva Mahan. She entered into heaven on November 21, 2019.

Growing up, Argie's family moved back and forth from state to state frequently. She lived in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa. Most of her education was in one-room schoolhouses until 8th grade, when she attended Oaks Mission School in Oaks, Oklahoma. She attended high school in Wales, Iowa until her 10th grade year.

Argie was a hard worker her entire life. When she was a young girl, she worked on the farm with her Dad. She was proud of herself that she could keep up with the boys, doing hard physical labor. She spoke of working on the two-man saw, learning to split firewood with a wedge and two-bit axe and driving a mule team pulling farm equipment in the fields from a very young age. She got her first job when she was just 13, working in a tomato canning plant. She worked on the belt pulling tomatoes out of boiling water to remove the skins before sending them on down the line. Later in life she worked as a secretary, a bookkeeper, a cook and ran her own seamstress and house cleaning services.

In 1936, she met Ralph Irvin Cole at Oaks Church in rural Emerson, Iowa. They were married on January 27, 1937. The couple were dirt farmers outside of Henderson, Iowa and raised six children--Lora Irene, Ralph Lewis, Leora Rose, Donna Rae, Joy Marlene and Henry Allen. In 1952, the couple got electricity on the farm, a first for Argie. In 1974, Ralph and Argie left farming and moved to their home in Henderson where they each lived the rest of their life. One thing remained constant Argie's entire life--her deep faith.

Argie was a beautiful combination of velvet and steel. She was a small, but feisty woman who stood her ground and was as stubborn and independent as they come. And she loved fiercely--her generous heart knew no limits, and she was always a warm, soft place to land. She listened intently, shared words of wisdom and prayed vigilantly for those she cared deeply for.

Argie is preceded in death by her husband, parents, sisters Myrtle Smith, Lela Walton and Fern Crutchfield, brothers Roy, Darrell and Elbert Mahan, cherished sons-in-law Larry Skank, Ron Cole and David Mackey, grandson Joe Skank and great-grandchildren Justice Mohn, Michael Cole, Thomas Ihde, Chelsea Ihde and David Kesterson. She is survived by all six of her children, 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, 10 great-great-grandchildren, siblings Ray and Dennis Mahan, several nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Argie's life philosophy was: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." And she did just that.